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MEMO

ATTENTION:

Senate

FROM:

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Jonathan Driver, Vice-President, Academic & Provost, and Chair, SCUP

[RE ?

Centre for GLOW _Workforce Strategy (SCUP 09-05)

DATE:

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March 17,_2009

At its February 11, 2009 meeting SOUP reviewed and approved the

proposal for the creation of the Centre for Global Workforce Strategy.

This Centre will be a Schedule A Centre based in the Faculty of Business

Administration.

Motion

That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors

the creation of the Centre for Global Workforce Strategy as a

Schedule A Centre

reporting to the Dean, Faculty of Business Administration

end.

d: D. Thomas

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SCUP 09-05

OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT, RESEARCH

B. Mario Pinto,

Ph.D.

Vice-President, Research

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ATTENTION Sarah Dench Secretary

Professor ofChemistry ?

Senate Committee on University Manning (SCUP)

MAILING ADDRESS ?

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FROM B. Mario Pinto, Vice-President, Research

8888 Universit y

Drive

Burnab

y

BC Canada

VjA iSo

RE Centre for Goba1 Workforce Strategy

TEL: 778.782.4152

FAX: 778.782.4860

DATE January 29, 2009

vpres@sfu.ca

www.sfu.ca/vpresearch

Attached is a proposal from Dr. D. Shapiro, Dean, Faculty of Business Administration

for the establishment of the Centre for Global Workforce Strategy as a Schedule A

Centre.

The Governing Committee for Centres and Institutes recommends that the Centre be

granted approval by SOUP. Once approved by SCUP, the proposal is to be forwarded

to Senate, followed by submission to the Board of Governors.

Governing Committee:

j

Drnathan C. Driver

President, Academic and Provost

Dr. B. Mario Pinto

Vice-President, Research

Attachment

C: ?

D. Shapiro, Dean, Faculty of Business Administration

I. Gordon, Associate Dean, Faculty of Business Administration

C. Collins, Faculty of Business Administration

K. Millard, Faculty of Business Administration

. ?

D. Thomas, Faculty of Business Administration

W. Unger, Faculty of Business Administration

SIMON PRASIOS UNIVEIISIlY

?

THINKING OF THE WORLD

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1]

Faculty of Business Administration

Memo

Office of the Dean

To:

?

Dr. Mario Pinto

Vice President Research

From:

Daniel Shapiro

Dean, Faculty of Business Administration

Date:

January 30, 2009

Re: ?

Approval for proposed Centre for Global Workforce Strategy

I am pleased to recommend the creation of a new Schedule A centre to be housed in the

Faculty of Business Administration. The new centre is to be called the Centre for Global

Workforce Strategy. A proposed constitution for the Centre is attached and submitted for

your approval.

If there are any questions or if further documentation is required, we will be pleased to

address these issues.

DS/MB

Attachments: Proposed constitution (amended 20090130)

?

List of initial centre members

cc:

?

Irene Gordon

Colleen Collins

Ed Bukszar

Wendy Unger

Karen Millard

Dave Thomas

Valerie Murdoch

?

.

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Faculty of Business Administration, Simon Fraser University?

(a) Statement of Purpose

Mission

The Centre for Global Workforce Strategy will carry out multidisciplinary research on issues

surrounding effective work force management strategies in today's global environment. The

collaborative and multidisciplinary research environment at Simon Fraser University will allow

the Centre to build a strong team of researchers, initially drawing on the Faculty of Business

Administration's existing research expertise on global workforce management. It will initially

consolidate the activities of three ongoing multinational research projects.

• The first of these,

The Cultural Intelligence Project,

involves participants from 12

Scountries in defining, developing, and validating an instrument to measure Cultural

Intelligence - the measure of an individual's ability to interact effectively with the

cultural aspects of an environment. It is a key competency requirement for the

management of cultural diversity.

• The second project is Canadian participation in Cranet (the Cranfield Network on

Comparative Human Resource Management). Established in 1989, Cranet is an

expanding group of top business schools and academic institutions collaborating to

provide unique and rigorous data on human resource management practices across the

world.

• The third project involves the study of bicultural individuals in organizations. Given the

changing patterns in the world's workforce it is increasingly possible that more

employees and managers in today's global organizations will be bicultural. Bicultural

91 ?

individuals have a dual pattern of identification with different cultures. The ability of

I-f.

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biculturals to operate within more than one culture as a native raises a number of

important and interesting questions for global workforce management.

As the Centre develops additional themes within the overall mandate of the Centre will be added.

The Centre will pursue both the development of new knowledge in these and related areas and its

dissemination to both academic and practitioner audiences. The Centre will support individual

and team-based research on global workforce strategy, contribute to the training of new

researchers, and foster connections among researchers working in these areas. It will sponsor

occasional conferences and forums on global workforce strategy for both researchers and

managers. The Centre will also facilitate opportunities for SFU students to learn about and apply

their knowledge of global workforce strategy.

Vision

Overall, the Centre's vision is to assist organizational leaders and managers in acquiring the

skills and tools necessary to plan and execute workforce management strategies that will result in

improved organizational performance.

Rationale

Economic integration, the increased use and sophistication of information technology, and the

introduction of new players on the international stage are creating a more complex and dynamic

work environment than ever before. While the direction of these changes seems clear, the rate of

change is uncertain and accelerating dramatically. It is often difficult to separate the causes of

this globalization from its effects, but one outcome is apparent: an increasingly tight labour

market and an ageing work force combined with the reduction in boundaries to migration means

a work force that is increasingly culturally diverse. Leading companies have recognized that

cultural diversity is not just a problem to be overcome but also a resource to be exploited to the

benefit of the bottom line. In addition, the competition for skilled people on a global scale is

intense and new attitudes toward work and careers present additional challenges about work-life

balance, which further complicates the strategic management of today's workforce. This Centre

will provide a much needed focus for research that studies topics related to the effective

management of a global workforce.

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(b) Appointment of a Director

A faculty member from the Faculty of Business Administration will be appointed by the Dean to

serve as the Director of the Centre for a three year term (renewable).

(c) Applicable Schedule

The Centre will be governed by SFU Policy R 40.01 for Schedule A Centres and Institutes. The

Director will report annually to the Dean on the activities of the Centre who in turn will report to

the University's Governing Committee for Centres, in accordance with Policy R 40.01.

Membership in the Centre will be recommended by the Director and approved by the Dean of

Business Administration.

(d) Obligation of the Centre

All activities conducted within the Centre will conform to University policies.

Funding

Funding of the research and outreach activities of the Centre will initially be provided by seed

money ($67,000 allocated over 3 years: 2008-2009 - $25,000; 2009-2010 - $22,000; 2010-2011-

$20,000) from the Faculty of Business Administration. During that time major financial support

for the Centre will be sought from business and industry. Business and government agencies

have shown a significant amount of interest in the three foundation projects of the Centre and

additional project related financing has already been committed.

(e) Internal Governing of the Centre

The Centre will be guided by an advisory board consisting of at least six individuals. The Faculty

of Business Administration will appoint the members. Two board memberships will be reserved

and be appointed by the organization providing major funding. A Chair will be elected from the

members of the Board. The Chair of the Advisory Board, if different from the Director of the

Centre, will propose to the Director the plan of activities envisioned for each year. The Director

will ensure that any such proposed activities are consistent with University policies.

(I,.

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Segal Graduate School of Business

Centre for Global Workforce Strategy

Economic integration, the increased use and sophistication of information technology, and the

introduction of new players on the international stage are creating a more complex and dynamic work

environment than ever before. While the direction of these changes seems clear, the rate of change is

uncertain and accelerating dramatically. It is often difficult to separate the causes of this globalization

from its effects, but one outcome is apparent: an increasingly tight labour market and an ageing work

force combined with the reduction in boundaries to migration means a work force that is increasingly

culturally diverse. Leading companies have recognized that cultural diversity is not just a problem to be

overcome but also a resource to be exploited to the benefit of the bottom line. In addition, the

competition for skilled people on a global scale is intense and new attitudes toward work and careers

present additional challenges about work-life balance, which further complicates the strategic

management of today's workforce.

The

Centre for Global Workforce Strategy

will carry out multidisciplinary research on issues

surrounding effective work force management strategies. It will initially consolidate the activities of

three ongoing multinational research projects. The first project,

The Cultural Intelligence Project,

involves participants from 12 countries in defining, developing, and validating an instrument to

measure Cultural Intelligence - the measure of an individual's ability to interact effectively with the

cultural aspects of an environment. It is a key competency requirement for the management of cultural

diversity. The second project is Canadian participation in Cranet (the Cranfield Network on

Comparative Human Resource Management). Established in 1989, Cranet is an expanding group of

• ?

top business schools and academic institutions collaborating to provide unique and rigorous data on

human resource management practices across the world. Researchers carry out a regular

international survey of organizational policies and practices and provide benchmarks for a systematic

comparative analysis of trends in HRM policies and practices. Cranet is a unique resource for

researchers, management practitioners, and policy makers, seeking an up-to-date overview of HR

management's ever-changing global face. The third project involves the study of bicultural individuals

in organizations. Given the changing patterns in the world's workforce it is increasingly possible that

more employees and managers will be bicultural. Bicultural individuals have a dual pattern of

identification with different cultures. The ability of biculturals to operate within more than one culture as

a native raises a number of interesting and important questions for global workforce management. As

the Centre develops additional themes within the overall mandate of the Centre will be added.

Other Centre activities will include:

• Practitioner forums, media outreach, and academic conferences

• ?

Publication in traditional scholarly venues

• ?

Preparation and distribution of educational material for use by universities and professional

associations

• Outreach and networking activities, such as the hosting conferences or public forums on

topical subjects, and workshops to promote the activities and findings of the Centre to both

academic and business audiences

• Regular offerings of professional development program

LA

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OUR EXPERTISE

The Centre for Global Workforce Strategy will be directed by

Dr. David C. Thomas

(subject to Senate

approval). An internationally acknowledged expert and leading scholar in the field of international

management, he has published 7 books and more than 50 articles and chapters on the management

of individuals in culturally diverse organizations. He received his PhD in Organizational Behaviour and

International Business from the University of South Carolina. His research into the interaction of

individuals from different cultures in organizational settings has led to research studies in more than a

dozen countries, and he is currently directing an international research team in the development of a

measure of 'Cultural Intelligence. Dr. Thomas has a longstanding collaboration with Kerr Irikson, one

of New Zealand's most eminent management scholars. Their best selling book

Cultural Intelligence:

People Skills for Global

Business

communicates best practices in global people management in

manner easily accessible to practicing managers. In addition to his numerous research projects and

teaching activities Dr Thomas is a highly sought after public speaker on the management of cultural

diversity in organizations.

The collaborative and multidisciplinary research environment at Simon Fraser University will allow Dr.

Thomas to build a strong team of researchers, initially drawing on the Faculty of Business

Administration's existing research expertise on global workforce management. Initial Centre members

will include:

Carolyn Egri

Dr. Carolyn Egri, is a pioneer in research related to corporate environmental and social responsibility -

she has been publishing on this topic for more than 15 years, long before it became trendy. A prolific

researcher with numerous research grants, she has been examining corporate environmental social

responsibility practices as well as cross-cultural differences in managerial values and influence tactics

around the world. ?

0

Brenda Lautsch

Dr. Brenda Lautsch's interest in the human aspects of work, such as employment relationships and

issues of equity and fairness in the workplace are the catalyst for her research into new work systems

and inequality, contingent work, alternative dispute resolution, and the effects of flexible work. Her

articles have appeared in prestigious journals such as the Industrial and Labour Relations Review.

Mila Lazarova

Dr. Mila Lazarova's research interests include expatriate management, with a focus on repatriation and

the career impact of international assignments; work/life balance issues related to assignments: global

careers and the role of organizational career development and work/life balance practices on

employee retention. Most recently, she has been involved in a study of global virtual teams. She was

recently awarded a SSHRC standard research grant for a comparative study of HR practices and the

changing role of the HR department in organizations.

Rosalie L. lung

Dr. Rosalie L.Tung has served on several faculties of a number of American universities, including a

Wisconsin Distinguished Professorship with the University of Wisconsin System and the Wharton

School at the University of Pennsylvania. She has been a visiting professor at universities around the

world, including Harvard, and has served on the United Nations' Task Force on Human Resource

Management. She is also involved in management development and consulting activities around the

world. Dr. Tung has published widely on the subjects of international management and organizational

theory and is the author or editor of 11 books.

.